Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness

Introduction

The United States Congress designated the Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness (map) in 1984 and it now has a total of 37,030 acres.
All of this wilderness is located in Arizona and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Description

You won't find the Colorado River, the force of nature that eons ago carved the Grand Wash Cliffs of Arizona, anywhere near the cliffs themselves. Today the Colorado flows about 20 miles to the south, sculpting the Grand Canyon. But this Wilderness in Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, marking the transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range Provinces, preserves the river's intricate handiwork--rugged canyons, scenic escarpments, and colorful sandstone buttes. Most remarkable are the 12 miles of towering cliffs themselves, which are cut into two giant steps, the first about 2,000 feet high, and the second a 1,000-foot leap to the Shivwits Plateau. Between the two steps lies a shelf that stretches one to three miles wide. Several canyons cut deeply into the sculpted cliffs and provide opportunities for tough scrambling to the top where a piñon-juniper woodland overlooks a plain of Mojave desert shrubs below. Roads lead to the northern portion where the walking is relatively easy.

One 11-mile maintained trail traverses the length of this wilderness above the Grand Wash Cliffs in pinyon-juniper country. You will find extraordinary opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation as well as rugged canyon hiking, if you don't mind the effort. Gila monsters, desert tortoises, and desert bighorn sheep live here in solitude. Access is difficult, but seekers of solitude will find it well worth the effort.

Planning to Visit the Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness?

Leave No Trace

How to follow the seven standard Leave No Trace principles differs in different parts of the country (desert vs. Rocky Mountains). Click on any of the principles listed below to learn more about how they apply in the Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness.